..... to not want my son to be given sparklers?

[Fryib]

Hes 3.3 and we are going to a friends where the kids are going to play, do some craft stuff (think gluing, glitter, painting etc) and then friend mentioned shes bought some sparklers.

My two Dc re 3.3 and 15 months, so I said thanks but I dont want him having one. Her dcs are 3 and 15months and oldest will have one.

Am i pfb?

Misdee , I remember that advert.

I just don't like them.

I was on the side of "oh, what harm can it do" until I googled "accidents involving sparklers"

"Sparklers are not harmless fireworks warns Child Accident Prevention Trust

Child Accident Prevention Trust has joined forces with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to warn of the dangers of sparklers in the hands of children under five.

The charity, which is supporting the DTI's annual campaign to promote safety on bonfire night, does not want to stop people enjoying celebrations with friends and family but wants to remind them that even sparklers can be a serious hazard in the wrong hands.

"This year, DTI is focusing on reducing injuries among teenagers misusing fireworks. Our role in the campaign is to focus on the other vulnerable group as far as firework injuries are concerned - very young children," explained Katrina Phillips, Chief Executive of Child Accident Prevention Trust. "When lit, sparklers can get six times as hot as a pan of cooking oil and last year hospitals treated 136 injuries caused by sparklers - 98 of which were burns to children under five years old. The fact is that children under five are too young to be allowed anywhere near fireworks and that includes sparklers."

From here

It shouldn't scare you. It should make you aware. respectful of the danger. If it does thta, then its done its job.
Being scared is no good. No need to be. safe if you are sensible.

When lit, sparklers can get six times as hot as a pan of cooking oil and last year hospitals treated 136 injuries caused by sparklers - 98 of which were burns to children under five years old.

That is too big a risk for me to take.

It took me years to be brave enough to have sparklers with my girls. They first had them at (a very sensible) 6 and 7. We do them outside our house on the drive with a bucket of water on standby. They respect them as being a very grown-up, serious but fun thing.

Doing the firework code with my class I was shocked at how many said that their mums let tthem just throw them on the ground when they are burned out.

The biggest danger from sparklers is when they are finished - apparently dead but still extremely hot.

The safest way is if the child wears gloves, holds the sparkler with you, your hand covering theirs, then as soon as it dies drop it into a bucket of water. This also makes a satisfying hissing noise as the hot sparkler hits the cold water.

DS (5) and DD (2.9) will be having one each if they want to (they have never seen let alone held one before so may not want to iyswim)

But they will be strictly supervised.

ob, i was a kid at the time. i think they should still do ads like these as it seems that some basic safety has been forgotton (not on here though) by people out and about.

my older girls have sparklers, dd3 had one last year at almost 5. done as people here have done, with an adult helping her and a bucket of water nearby.

dh is tking older dd's to in-laws on sat night for fireworks (dd4 had a massive asthma attack after last years so wont be going), and they will have sparklers there. they wont have them at the big display tomorrow with me, as no water bucket nearby.

O.k. Alt. do you think the accident that happened to you could happen to another Mn'er ?
Lindt, how did these 98 accidents happen ? what am I missing here ? Are we to assume that many of them becasue they picked them up again after they had gone out ?

I was supervised, I didn't drop it and pick it up again
Instead I grabbed the finished end with my spare hand

Sparklers burn at a temperature much higher than a boiling kettle. Would you let young children play with a hot kettle, supervised or not? My kids will be witing a few years yet!

Injury can still result,even if the child doesn't grab the sparkler,as can be seen here for example.

Err... I'd just like to point out re my saying "it's Special Needs O'Clock in our house" in an earlier post on this thread that BOTH of my children have SN and this term is just a family in- joke between me & Mr Diziet which helps us to laugh a little when things are getting particularly fractious, especially with DS2.
He does have a tendency to rub things over his face to have a good feel and sniff etc so I DEFINITELY wouldn't let him have a sparkler to hold!!
I apologise if anyone took offence at the term: I meant none.

I thank you.

Diezet
I am glad that you clarified that. I did notice your post, but actually assumed from the wording of your post that you had a child with SN

I cannot find anything about how the accidents happened, just that they are pretty constant at about 132 DC a year, mainly under 5yos.

FGS you just need to use a bit of common sense- have them wearing those big thick thermal gloves .No one standing in front of them .If you tell them it is very hot and stand behind them -its fine for a 2 yo.My DC have been lighting fireworks since they were 3 (under strict supervision) and light out open fire nearly everyday (5 and 9) unaided

More dangerous to never expose them to anything dangerous IMO

If you google accidents involving just about anything you will get a long list though.
I googled "accidents involving soft toys" and got a long list of references, including 1 to a DTI 2000 statistic that 40,000 accidents involving toys happen annually.
We throw used sparklers on the usually wet grass in one area of the garden and pick them up the following morning.

I think 5 is a sensible age - more or less. My DS1 is 5 but I do think he'd probably be a bit scared - we've a party to go to tomorrow so how he'll react I don't know!! DS2 doesn't seem to be scared of anything at all but he can be rather overwhelmed with lots of noise/ people.
It may well be a case or returning to Base Camp to watch the displays out in the back garden with a cup of hot milk on the go - that's how my brother and I used to watch fireworks when we were DC ourselves, standing on top of the coal bunker and peering over the back fence!!

2rebecca
If you google accidents involving cars you will find that thousands of children die every year because of them.

Doesn't stop me using the car, but it does make me ensure that the children are wearing the correct seatbelts, and that they learn how to cross the road.

Not using a car would be a huge inconvenience, so I weigh that up with the dangers and hope for the best.

Not using sparklers does not inconvenience me at all.

After reading the recommendations, I just would not risk it for younger DC

136 burns from sparklers out of a population of approx 65 million is very small percentage.

The pleasure on a little ones face holding a sparkler is worth the risk.

If we stopped our kids doinfg anything risky then they would miss out on a lot.

No more risk of injury with sparkler than any other activty- eg- slides, trampolines, bikes, crossing road, travellling in car etc...

Of course kids need close supervision to minimise risk- but honestly, I feel sorry for some of your kids.

The first thing my dd asked when I told her it was bonfire night was "will there be some of those sticks you wave in the air?" She's 5 so obviously had the biggest impact on her out of all the other fireworks.

OP YABU!

Where on earth are people getting this ridiculous idea from,that not wanting one's child to hold a sparkler means that they're not allowed to take any risks whatsoever?

And there's no need to feel sorry for anyone's children,simply because they don't get to hold a sparkler.